New York.
Ted and Marshall's apartment.
"She's here!"
Ted was sprawled out on the couch, eyes glued to the barely-watched New York City News Channel One. The second Robin's face popped up on the screen, he bolted upright.
"…And now we're headed to the medical center to check on my colleague Neil…"
"Medical center!" Ted muttered, grabbing his jacket and making a beeline for the door.
"Huh, what a coincidence—Barney and Adam are both over there," Lily said, raising an eyebrow.
Before she could finish, Ted froze for a split second—then took off like he was running the 100-meter Dash.
"What's up with him?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.
"Babe, isn't it obvious?" Marshall grinned. "Ted's trying to win Robin back. Why else would he go through all this trouble tracking her down for a 'casual' run-in? But with Barney and Adam around? Those guys are lady-killers and every man's worst nightmare. Of course he's freaking out."
"Ted's lost it a little," Lily said, shaking her head. "First, he drops 'I love you' on their very first date and scares her off. Now he's turning into a full-on stalker. I'm starting to regret setting him up with Robin in the first place."
A few days earlier, at McLaren's Pub:
Marshall and Lily's mushy PDA was blinding, and Ted was rambling on again about his quest for true love. Then, mid-rant, he spun around—and there she was: Robin, looking drop-dead gorgeous.
It was like a scene from an old movie. A sailor spots a girl across a crowded dance floor, turns to his buddy, and says, "See that girl? Someday, I'm gonna marry her."
"Hey, Mom, Dad—check out that girl!" Ted said, doing a dramatic lean-back and nudging the couple who were busy making out like no one else existed. "I just found the future Mrs. Ted Mosby."
Marshall and Lily's relationship was rock-solid—practically married already. Lily was the queen of giving friends life advice, and Marshall was shaping up to be a smooth-talking lawyer. So, living together, Ted sometimes jokingly called them "Mom and Dad."
"Whoa! She's hot!" Lily exclaimed—not Marshall.
Robin was stunning, with this sharp, confident vibe that made guys swoon and even some girls take notice.
"Ted, what are you waiting for? Go for it!" Marshall urged.
"I can't just walk up to her. I need a plan. Maybe wait till she heads to the bathroom…" Ted hesitated, overthinking as usual.
"Hey, have you met Ted?" Lily rolled her eyes, channeling Barney's classic move. When Robin came up to the bar to order a drink, Lily tapped her shoulder, tossed out the line, and promptly ditched the scene, leaving Ted to take over.
It started off great—until Ted got too eager, blurted out "I love you," and spooked Robin, who was only looking for something casual.
Still, she hit it off with Lily and became fast friends. When Lily let slip that Robin wasn't into anything serious right now, Ted hatched a new plan: Operation Casual. He couldn't just ask her out—that'd be too direct. Instead, he'd track her down, stage a "coincidental" meetup, and "casually" invite her to a totally nonexistent party he'd throw together on the fly.
Ted dubbed himself the "Prince of Casual."
Lily, a fellow romantic, thought he was losing his damn mind.
"Marshall, let's head over too. Might as well check in on Barney and Adam," Lily suggested.
"Yeah, sounds good," Marshall agreed, always down for whatever.
At the medical center:
"Ted?"
Robin was in the hallway, mid-conversation with Bald Chris about her passed-out colleague Neil's condition, when she caught a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't hide her surprise.
"Robin? Whoa, small world!" Ted said, playing it cool. He'd spotted her ages ago but turned away, waiting for her to call out first. His tone and expression weren't even that over-the-top—pretty smooth, actually.
But the sweat dripping from his forehead after sprinting over? To a seasoned pro like Robin, it was a dead giveaway. Hilarious, even. Still, she liked him enough not to call him out.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Me?" Ted faltered for a second, then remembered Lily's tip. "Oh, I'm visiting a friend. My buddy Barney's in here—hospitalized."
"The Barney from Lily's stories?" Robin grinned. "I haven't met him yet. Wanna go see him together?"
"No!" Ted yelped, then caught her puzzled look and backpedaled. "Uh, his condition's kinda… not visitor-friendly. Trust me, you don't wanna see it." He pulled a grossed-out face for effect.
"Oh, got it," Robin said, nodding like she totally bought it. She dropped the subject.
"So, what about you? What brings you here?" Ted asked, steering the conversation away.
"My colleague…" Robin explained the situation.
"He okay?" Ted asked.
"Should be," Robin shrugged. "That's what the doctors said."
"Good to hear," Ted said, relaxing a bit. Then the "Prince of Casual" kicked in, laying it on thick with exaggerated nonchalance. "Oh, since we bumped into each other—there's this party tonight, Friday night thing. If you're up for it, you should swing by. Totally casual, no pressure!"
"Aw, I'm heading home for the weekend," Robin said, genuinely bummed. "If it were tonight, I'd be in."
"It is tonight!" Ted corrected himself lightning-fast. "My bad—I keep saying Friday 'cause I'm so used to it. But yeah, it's tonight! Tonight! Just a chill party, you know, super casual~"
"Cool, I'm in," Robin said with a laugh.
"Marshall, Lily—you guys made it!" Ted spotted them arriving and rushed over, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Party's tonight. Don't spill the beans. I'm heading back to set it up."
After a quick hello, he shot them a wink and bolted.
At Williams Clinic:
"Hey," Adam answered a call from Lily. "I'm off work, not at the hospital anymore. A party? Sure, if I'm free later, I'll swing by."
He hung up.
"You're going to a party?" George asked, a little jealous.
"Gotta wait till Cristina's out of surgery first," Adam said, shaking his head.
It'd been a while since he'd hung out with Marshall, Lily, and the crew. They were good friends—each one had helped him rack up some "attribute points" in life—but catching up over drinks couldn't compete with surgery. Every seasoned doc tells patients or their families the same thing: "Surgery comes with risks!" Anesthesia alone was never 100% safe. Even with a top-tier surgeon handling Cristina's case, Adam wasn't about to ditch and party just yet.
Two hours later:
Surgery wrapped up. No drama, everything went smooth.
"Meredith, Cristina's in your hands tonight. You good staying with her?" Adam asked.
"Of course," Meredith nodded.
They were med school buddies and besties—it was a given, no question needed. But after Meredith's rough day and a few too many drinks, Adam figured a heads-up couldn't hurt.
"George, let's roll," Adam called, motioning him out.
He wasn't about to leave George behind. After tonight, if George wanted to hook up with someone and accidentally cuckold Shepherd right in front of him, Adam would just grab popcorn and watch. But tonight? No way. Losing Shepherd's favor was one thing—getting on his bad side was another.
"I—"
"Meredith's got this. Go home, rest up. You've got early shift tomorrow, plus you're covering for Cristina the next couple days," Adam cut George off, dragging him out before he could argue.
Back at Marshall and Ted's apartment:
Thanks to Ted's frantic last-minute hustle, the party was in full swing. The place was packed.
When Marshall and Lily walked in with Robin, they quietly flashed Ted a thumbs-up. But Ted barely noticed—too busy grabbing his architect sketching tools. His original plan? Flirt with some hot girl while sketching, showing off his charm and "casual" vibe to impress Robin. Problem was, the only person in front of him now was a flamboyantly gay dude.
Still, with Robin approaching, Ted powered through.
"Hey, hi there~" he said, spinning around "casually" with a tactical lean-back as he sensed her behind him.
"Hey, cool party!" Robin said, genuinely impressed.
"Make yourself at home~" Ted tossed out, turning back to chat up the guy about his "super cool" architecture stuff.
Robin wanted casual? Oh, he'd give her casual.
Robin blinked, a little thrown off when Ted actually ignored her. Shrugging, she wandered over to Lily.
Ted smirked to himself. Step one: ignore her for an hour. Step two: "casually" invite her to the rooftop later. Moonlight, stars, a dreamy night sky—no one could resist falling in love up there. Flawless plan!
"What's up with Ted? He's acting weird," Robin complained to Lily.
Lily gave a wry smile. She knew exactly what was going on but couldn't say a word. If she did, Robin would realize she'd blabbed—spilling the stuff Robin had explicitly told her not to tell Ted.
"Robin…" Lily racked her brain for an excuse, but Robin cut her off.
With a dramatic lean-back of her own, Robin nudged Lily, her voice bubbling with excitement. "Hey, Lily—see that guy over there? If I ever get married, that's the one I'm marrying!"
Lily: "…"
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